ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 983 http://www.s-gabriel.org/983 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: 22 May 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us whether the name could have been used by an Irish woman sometime after the 10th century. We found that , pronounced \GRAHN-nyeh\, was a popular name in the later Middle Ages [1]. The slash (/) indicates an accent over the preceding letter. This spelling seem to be most appropriate for later period; we found the earlier form [2], which would be more appropriate for the first century or two of your period. Though it is a different spelling, it would be pronounced the same. The names and apparently derive from the word , meaning "smith" (the occupation) [3]. The first means "son of the smith" and would have been used literally by a man whose father was a smith. The second translates "[male] descendent of the smith", but in practice meant "[male] member of Clan Gobhann". The element is not found in period Irish. It is a post-period written contraction of , the phrase used to indicate clan membership for a woman, equivalent to the masculine . The feminine form is literally "daughter of O/ Gobhann" and in practice meant "[female] member of Clan Gobhann". Thus, if you want to be the daughter of a particular smith, you could call yourself "daughter of the smith", but if you want to be a member of the clan, you should call yourself . Until the fifteenth century, the two versions were pronounced \IN-yen ahn GHO-ahn\ and \IN-yen ee GHO-ahn\ respectively. \GH\ is the voiced version of the harsh, rasping sound in the Scottish word or the German . The phrase was extremely common and by the 16th century was compressed in spoken Gaelic to \nee\. Although it was not written that way in period Gaelic, English scribes often recorded names phonetically, and late 16th and early 17th century records show the phrase as or occasionally [4]. A person known in Gaelic as might well have been recorded in English documents as [3]. Thus, your best options for late period are: "Gra/inne, the smith's daughter" "Gra/inne, of the Gobhann clan" 16c English (same as the previous name) We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Arval Benicoeur, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, and Fergus Stout contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990) p.114 [2] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language_ (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983) [3] Patrick Woulfe, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation) [4] Ewen, C. L/Estrange, _A History of Surnames of the British Isles_ (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1931) p.212